


It’s Hard to Say I Miss You

by STARSdidathing



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - Future, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Loki (Marvel) Feels, M/M, Married Couple, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Feels, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 11:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13635516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/pseuds/STARSdidathing
Summary: After three hundred years together, Loki and Tony make the mistake of thinking they should have a 'break' from one another.





	It’s Hard to Say I Miss You

**Author's Note:**

> So this was another of those "wasn't on my list but I got inspired for and wrote it anyway!" fics, but I'm not really complaining because it _was_ an idea saved in my draft file that I'd have to get to eventually. It was also one from early last year, and I like the satisfaction of penning old ideas :) 
> 
> So I hope you enjoy this fluffy as heck fic, because, while it might look angst on the surface, trust me, it's not!

Tony didn’t remember whose idea it was but he had a sinking feeling it was him.

They had been arguing a lot, and yeah, okay, after three hundred years together, arguments probably made sense, but it just seemed to be getting worse. Their house was more of a battleground then a place of comfort and one of them, someone, sometime, had made the suggestion: _maybe we need a break._

The thing was, they’d done it. Tony had packed up and jumped on the next ship off Alfheim and gone to catch up with some friends in the middle of Knowhere. It had taken him two weeks to burn off his frustration and then he just started _missing_ Loki. 

He couldn’t sleep comfortably without the other man beside him. He went to turn and tell Loki about a discovery only to remember the mage wasn’t there. He missed Loki’s cooking and the glare he would give Tony if he wasn’t eating enough. He missed walking into a room and finding Loki curled up in a chair reading; when Loki was so utterly relaxed in Tony’s presence that his defences didn’t even register him, leaving Loki completely unaware of Tony pottering around beside him.

But just because Tony missed him, it didn’t mean the feeling was mutual.

Tony had asked around and Loki was off searching for magic texts on some far off world and having a fabulous time by all accounts. He wasn’t missing Tony tagging along and grumbling about how he hated camping and that the tomes Loki was after better be worth the seven showers Tony would need to feel clean again. 

So Tony had forced himself to go back to science and discovery. He smiled tightly at his friends and he pretended he was enjoying the break from their marriage as much as his husband was, he pretended it wasn’t painful to know that Loki, like so many people before him, was better off without Tony.

* * *

Loki had known that Tony had been unhappy for a while; they both had, in truth. The many quirks and habits that had once entertained them and fostered fondness, they now caused gritted teeth and constant agitation.

 _Maybe we need a break._ When the suggestion came it had been a relief, a chance to be alone and enjoy the peace and quiet. But it was by the third day of Tony’s departure that Loki hated their home and had to leave.

The smell of Tony’s Alfheim coffee in the mornings was absent. There were no curses as his lover tried to experiment with some new item, there were no shouts of Loki’s name as his husband feared for the destruction of their home after pressing the wrong button.

It was just too silent.

Frustrated, Loki had thrown himself into looking for a lost magic text, but even that could not satisfy him. He enjoyed the travelling and researching for the first few weeks, but he found himself missing Tony’s presence at his side; his complaints about the journey, his curiosity about everything around them, his dry and sarcastic humour over another dead-end and his warmth when he curled against Loki at night.

But Loki had searched out Tony, wanting to see how his husband was faring; but he seemed happy and enjoying his time on Knowhere. He didn’t miss their quiet home that was secluded and surrounded by forest; more to Loki’s taste than Tony’s. He didn’t miss Loki peering over his shoulder as he deconstructed a device to see how it worked; teasing Tony for still acting so adorably Midgardian despite his immortality. 

Tony was enjoying his time away from Loki and from their marriage and he would not wish for Loki to seek him out to invite him to come home.

Loki tried to ignore how much it hurt that despite his hopes, even Tony was now growing tired of putting up with him.

* * *

Thor had spent most of his life unable to fathom Loki and being privately worried that his brother would never fit in on Asgard and that he would never be happy.

But as times changed, secrets were revealed and Thor learned to see the world through different eyes, he came to understand that while Loki was different and may never be suited to Asgard, it did not mean that Loki would never be happy. 

When his brother started a romance with Tony Stark it had been surprising, but the benefits to their partnership had been staggering. They grounded one another, they made each other happy and Thor could not have been more pleased than to stand beside them in proud support as they joined their lives together.

In the centuries that followed, Thor spent much of his time on Asgard, preparing to and then becoming King. Loki often came to visit to both act as an advisor and to attend annual feasts and political talks among the realms. He did not live on Asgard any longer, but he was still a prince and had fostered more friendships with Alfheim than Thor could ever hope to achieve.

Loki would always bring Tony along who enjoyed exploring the royal libraries, talking to the diplomats and catching up with Thor. They were both present for Thor’s coronation and he often invited them back to Asgard in order to seek their advice.

Ruling Asgard was a difficult and time-consuming task, and perhaps that was why it took him some months to learn of Loki and Tony’s troubles. 

The first Thor had known of it was when Loki had come to visit him without Tony in tow. Thor had been confused but Loki had explained the situation with clipped words and tense shoulders. Thor had known better than to pry further if he wished to avoid sparking Loki’s vicious temper, but he was still perplexed.

His puzzlement only grew when--a few days after Loki had departed Asgard--Tony visited and asked to search for a book in the royal library. Thor had agreed, but it had not taken long for Tony to ask after Loki, his words smooth and disinterested but the look in his eyes was desperately hopeful for information.

Thor had answered and watched the way that Tony had slumped a little, smiled sadly and thanked Thor. He hadn’t lingered on the planet for long; claiming the book--that Thor did not believe had ever truly existed--wasn’t there and that he would leave Thor to his realm ruling.

When Loki returned to Asgard hardly a day after Tony had left, Thor had not been surprised, nor was it unexpected that the first question Loki asked him was why Tony had been on Asgard, swiftly followed by the same hopeful desperation Tony had shown as he sought to learn how his husband was faring. 

It became something of a pattern over the following weeks. They would learn that the other had been on Asgard only to rush to Thor’s side to enquire what had happened, what was wrong and if they were alright. Thor had made numerous attempts to explain to both Loki and Tony that the only thing wrong with them both was that they _missed_ each other, but they stubbornly refused to accept Thor’s explanations.

They each believed that the other was enjoying the ‘break’ from their marriage and that they were the only one who wished to be reunited.

They were, the both of them, stubborn, ridiculous fools and Thor had quickly grown tired of it. 

He’d sent them each a message that requested their presence on Asgard. Thor had made them arrive at separate times so they would not spy one another. He had asked Loki wait in a room where he would join the mage shortly. He then met Tony in the Great Hall and quickly started leading him through the palace.

Tony had been eyeing him suspiciously, but Thor had been studiously ignoring the questioning look. It left Tony with no choice but to ask, “Care to explain _why_ you summoned me here? Your message said it was important.”

“It is of grave importance,” Thor agreed. 

“So how about some details?”

Thor shook his head. “All will become clear shortly, Tony.”

Tony let out a small huff of frustration, but he did fall silent once more, which Thor was grateful for. He did not need Loki hearing Tony and disappearing himself before the reunion could take place.

When they reached the room, Thor pushed the door open quickly and hurried Tony inside. Loki had been in the centre of the room, skimming a book, but he instantly turned and snapped, “Thor, I have been waiting for-”

Loki fell silent when his eyes locked on Tony.

They stared at each other with a wistful longing that was hurriedly masked from their faces as they both glanced away from one another. Thor was torn between huffing a laugh or rolling his eyes at their absurd behaviour.

“Why have you brought us here, Thor?” Loki asked, his voice still a harsh snap even as he crossed his arms and refused to look at his husband, glaring daggers through Thor instead.

“Because I will not abide this sadness any longer,” Thor told them simply. “You will not believe my words when I say you are missing one another, so I have been forced to show you.” He gestured at them both. “Discuss this, end your foolish separation.” 

He gave them a final, stern glare before he turned and left the room. He hoped this would be the only push they needed to solve the problem, but should they refuse and leave without resolution, Thor was more than prepared to have them thrown in a dungeon to keep them from escaping each other.

It might have taken him many centuries to grow close with his brother and to understand even a fraction of how Loki’s mind worked, but Thor knew enough to know that Loki sometimes grew lost and hurt by his own misconceptions of what others felt about him. Tony, it seemed, was much the same.

The two of them loved each other deeply. They just needed to be reminded of it.

* * *

Tony couldn’t stop the way his eyes greedily ran over Loki once Thor had left the room. He hadn’t seen his husband in almost six months and since the moment he saw him, Tony’s heart had ached with a longing to throw himself into the mage’s arms and hold on tightly. Loki was looking over Tony just as covetously, but Tony still couldn’t bring himself to step forward, not when he didn’t know if he was welcome.

Just because Thor had said Loki was missing him, it didn’t mean that it was true; every other account he’d heard said that Loki was having a great time without him.

“I’ve heard you’ve been well,” Loki told him with a carefully blank expression. 

Tony smiled at him tightly. “I heard you have too.”

There was a long moment where they both just stared at each other, emotions thick in the air and words heavy on their tongues - but it couldn’t be held in, not with their hearts so desperate to be reunited with the one that they loved.

They both broke at the same time, their words rushing out as they took an uncertain step closer to the other:

“I’ve wanted to come back-”

“I’ve wanted you to return-”

They both stopped; their motions halting and their mouths snapping shut - but their words had still been heard and understood.

Slowly, Tony felt a smile spread over his face while a similar one blossomed on Loki’s. They hurriedly started moving until they could reach each other; their hands brushing and fingers linking before their lips finally came together in a soft, cherished kiss that they’d spent long months yearning for. They held each other almost painfully tightly as they let the moment last with slow brushes of their lips and soothing strokes of their fingers; remembering what it was like to be close and to be loved.

“I’m sorry I suggested leaving,” Tony whispered when they eventually pulled apart, their foreheads resting together.

“I’m sorry that I ever let you,” Loki answered him just as softly.

It made Tony give a soft laugh as he grinned; lightly brushing his nose against Loki’s and delighting in the closeness that he’d missed so much. 

“Mental note,” Tony murmured, “let’s not listen to me about stuff like that in the future.”

Loki chuckled before brushing his lips in a kiss to Tony’s cheek. “Or perhaps, let us admit that a few days apart were for the best, but we should not have allowed it to stretch any longer.”

Tony just nodded, remembering the tension and agitation from so long ago and the momentary benefit to their separation before it all went downhill.

Letting his eyes fall closed, Tony simply enjoyed the touch, taste, smell and _presence_ of his husband beside him once more. _God, I’ve missed you_ , Tony thought, but didn’t say, instead he whispered something just as important, “I love you, Loki.”

He felt Loki’s soft sigh before he replied just as gently, “I love you too, Tony.”

It allowed the last of the tension and worry around Tony’s heart to disappear as he relaxed completely against Loki.

Finally, they were together again, and finally, they were able to return home.

**Author's Note:**

> Told ya it was a giant ball of fluff XD


End file.
